Dear Juno or Any Other Teenager in a Similar Situation,
I find your decision to carry your baby to term and give it up for adoption very commendable, and I admire your maturity in handling this situation. I would, however, like to talk to you about the choices you made that led you to getting pregnant. First off, you are sixteen years old, so I have a very hard time believing that you had no idea that sex can lead to pregnancy. That being said, you were stupid. As if the half-baked idea to lose your virginity out of boredom to someone who you weren't even dating wasn't bad enough, you didn't even have enough common sense to use birth control. With so many resources to get birth control available, you were just irresponsible. What if you had gotten an STD? But what happened, happened, so I digress.
Abortion and adoption are both great choices for young women who get pregnant and are not ready to become mothers, and I strongly support both. Giving a baby up for adoption can give someone who desperately wanted a baby a wonderful gift, and the mother, the baby, and the adoptive parent(s) could all walk away happy. In my opinion, however, abortion is usually the better choice. We all know that one of the symptoms of pregnancy is fatigue, so I imagine it must be very difficult to keep up with homework while you are pregnant and in high school. Adoption also requires great emotional strength, not only do you have to care for that baby inside of you and watch your body change for nine months, you then have to suddenly give that baby away to another set of parents and cut your ties with it. Though I admire the parents who have the strength to go through with this, abortion is a way to avoid all of that.
Abortion is a very loaded topic when it comes to morals and the question of life, and though it cannot be debated that it is human life from the moment of conception, in my opinion the real question is the value of that life. Pro-life activists argue that all life is valuable, but then will kill spiders in their houses and eat a steak for dinner. Isn't that a little hypocritical? I think the real value of life is in the potential and the future that each person has. Becoming pregnant at a young age can put a person's life on hold and make it so they cannot accomplish their goals. Even with adoption, the mother may have to drop out of school or take fewer classes while she is pregnant, and that could completely alter her life and career goals. With an abortion, however, the mother would be able to stay in school and make something of herself, and eventually become a mother later in life if that's what she wants. So, my question is, when did the future of the fetus become more important than the mother's future?
I'm not saying that abortion is easy or should be taken lightly, it is definitely a serious issue that, if considered, should be thought about carefully and thoroughly. There is no right answer as to what a pregnant teenager should do, whether they decide to keep the baby, give it up for adoption, or have an abortion. I hope that any one is this situation knows the facts and makes the right decision for themselves, because only they really know what they can handle. I also hope that they would learn from this and be more responsible in the future.
I find your decision to carry your baby to term and give it up for adoption very commendable, and I admire your maturity in handling this situation. I would, however, like to talk to you about the choices you made that led you to getting pregnant. First off, you are sixteen years old, so I have a very hard time believing that you had no idea that sex can lead to pregnancy. That being said, you were stupid. As if the half-baked idea to lose your virginity out of boredom to someone who you weren't even dating wasn't bad enough, you didn't even have enough common sense to use birth control. With so many resources to get birth control available, you were just irresponsible. What if you had gotten an STD? But what happened, happened, so I digress.
Abortion and adoption are both great choices for young women who get pregnant and are not ready to become mothers, and I strongly support both. Giving a baby up for adoption can give someone who desperately wanted a baby a wonderful gift, and the mother, the baby, and the adoptive parent(s) could all walk away happy. In my opinion, however, abortion is usually the better choice. We all know that one of the symptoms of pregnancy is fatigue, so I imagine it must be very difficult to keep up with homework while you are pregnant and in high school. Adoption also requires great emotional strength, not only do you have to care for that baby inside of you and watch your body change for nine months, you then have to suddenly give that baby away to another set of parents and cut your ties with it. Though I admire the parents who have the strength to go through with this, abortion is a way to avoid all of that.
Abortion is a very loaded topic when it comes to morals and the question of life, and though it cannot be debated that it is human life from the moment of conception, in my opinion the real question is the value of that life. Pro-life activists argue that all life is valuable, but then will kill spiders in their houses and eat a steak for dinner. Isn't that a little hypocritical? I think the real value of life is in the potential and the future that each person has. Becoming pregnant at a young age can put a person's life on hold and make it so they cannot accomplish their goals. Even with adoption, the mother may have to drop out of school or take fewer classes while she is pregnant, and that could completely alter her life and career goals. With an abortion, however, the mother would be able to stay in school and make something of herself, and eventually become a mother later in life if that's what she wants. So, my question is, when did the future of the fetus become more important than the mother's future?
I'm not saying that abortion is easy or should be taken lightly, it is definitely a serious issue that, if considered, should be thought about carefully and thoroughly. There is no right answer as to what a pregnant teenager should do, whether they decide to keep the baby, give it up for adoption, or have an abortion. I hope that any one is this situation knows the facts and makes the right decision for themselves, because only they really know what they can handle. I also hope that they would learn from this and be more responsible in the future.
Be safe. Wear a condom.
With love,
Samantha Main